Make these soft, chocolatey, and ultra fudgy NO BAKE chocolate oatmeal fudge bars!
Just one chocolate bite, and people fall instantly in love with the recipe!
When I first posted the bars on Instagram, it quickly received over 10,000 likes and hundreds of comments. I couldn’t reply fast enough.
And the chocolate oatmeal fudge bars have only gotten more popular since!
Also try these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Above – watch the step by step chocolate oatmeal bar recipe video
Classic chocolate oatmeal fudge bars
Oatmeal fudge bars have been a favorite potluck recipe for generations.
However, just because they contain oatmeal does not make the standard version of these treats a healthy choice.
Many classic oatmeal fudge bar recipes, including copycat recipes you can find online for the famous Starbucks oatmeal fudge bars, contain a shocking amount of butter and sugar even by traditional dessert standards.
Think one and a half cups of butter, two cups of flour, and an entire two cups of sugar, not to mention all the sugar from two cups chocolate chips and a can of sweetened condensed milk.
If any recipe were screaming for a healthy dessert makeover, the traditional chocolate oatmeal fudge bar would be it.
With so many facets of the original oatmeal fudge bar recipe needing an update, I opted to start completely from scratch.
These lightened up oatmeal snack bars can be dairy free, flourless, gluten free, and vegan. And they are just as deliciously chocolatey as the originals.
For a breakfast version, make Baked Oatmeal Bars
Chocolate oat fudge bar ingredients
If you’ve never had an oatmeal fudge bar before, imagine eating a homemade oatmeal cookie sandwich with a layer of smooth chocolate fudge in the middle.
That’s pretty much what this recipe tastes like.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the BEST part.
Instead of using any oil in the recipe, I made the bars even more delicious and healthy by adding peanut butter.
Basically, they contain all my favorite foods in one hand-held dessert.
If you are not a peanut butter addict like I am, you have many alternative options for these bars, including almond butter, cashew butter, Coconut Butter, or even sunbutter.
The recipe works with rolled oats, quick oats, or an oat free alternative like quinoa flakes or spelt flakes. I have not tried substituting steel cut oats.
I like to use dark or semi sweet chocolate chips. Or go for a fun twist by using white chocolate chips or even Peanut Butter Chips.
No chocolate chips on hand? It’s fine to substitute an equal amount of broken up chocolate bars, which is what I used in the photo above.
Chocolate oatmeal fudge bar serving ideas
Serve them for an after school snack or a weekday dessert.
The oatmeal bars are also an incredibly popular game day snack. Set out a tray at your next football playoff or Super Bowl party and watch the entire tray disappear.
Store leftovers in a covered container. They are fine to leave out on the counter for a day or two in a cool, dry place. For optimal freshness, I recommend refrigerating leftover healthy snack bars for up to a week.
Or freeze leftover oatmeal chocolate bars in an airtight covered container, with parchment or wax paper in between each layer of bars, for up to two months.
How to make chocolate oatmeal bars
Line an eight inch square pan with parchment paper or wax paper. Set this pan aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir the liquid sweetener (pure maple syrup, honey, or agave) with the water, vanilla extract, and a third cup of the peanut butter until smooth.
Stir in the rolled oats and the salt. Transfer about two thirds of this mixture to the prepared pan. Place a second sheet of parchment over top to press the oat mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan as hard as you can.
Remove the second sheet of parchment paper.
In a new bowl, very carefully melt the chocolate chips. (If you are unsure how to melt chocolate, see my Chocolate Covered Strawberries post.)
Stir in the remaining half cup of nut butter until smooth. Pour this thick chocolate fudge mixture over the oatmeal crust in the baking pan.
Finally, sprinkle the remaining oat crumbles on top of the chocolate layer, and press down firmly with a fork or spoon.
Refrigerate or freeze the bars until firm enough to cut into squares.
Also make the popular Black Bean Brownies
Chocolate Oatmeal Fudge Bars
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup quick oats, or here’s a keto version
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup peanut butter or allergy friendly sub
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 – 8 oz chocolate chips or sugar free chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup additional peanut butter or allergy friendly sub
Instructions
- **The bars in the photos were made with the lower amount of chocolate chips, and the bars in the video were made with the higher amount. It's your choice!Line an 8×8 pan with parchment or wax paper, and set aside. Stir together the maple syrup, 1/3 cup peanut butter, water, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the oats and salt. Transfer about 2/3 of the mixture to the pan, and press down very well, using a second sheet of parchment to press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. In a separate bowl, carefully melt the chocolate and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Pour this evenly on top of the crust in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining oat crumbles on top of the chocolate layer, then press down. Refrigerate or freeze until firm enough to cut squares.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Popular Game Day Recipes
These look so good! I just happen to have all of the ingredients at home!
Those are all the best ingredients 🙂 These look amazing!
I am concerned about the amount of maple syrup, which is 1/2 cup. Can you lessen the sweetener? I have diabetics in my family.
I substitute NuNaturals Simple Syrup (it’s an awesome stevia syrup) for the same amount of maple syrup in these recipes. Nunaturals also makes a chocolate syrup which is great too! I make sure I never run out! Just Google it and you will find plenty of places to buy.
The chocolate syrup is the best!
We do too try using sugar free syrup ?
Amazing. This makes me hungry .)
Kisses from http://poshnessary.com ❤
Hi katie. About how much (measured) melted chocolate is there in this recipe? I don’t use chocolate chips (*gasp*, I know), and am wondering if I can use melted oil with Cocoa powder in a pan. It wouldn’t be oil-free, but I don’t mind. Thanks!
I’m sure your coconut oil idea should work. But the only measurement I took for the chocolate is the 4 to 5 oz. Be sure to report back if you experiment!
I used Katie’s recipe for healthy chocolate sauce (with maple syrup in place of the agave) and it turned out perfectly! I’ve eaten the whole pan in less than a week single-handedly… at least they’re a healthy dessert! 🙂
I think I need to invent a special occasion to whip these bars out. Maybe to celebrate surviving another week of work…
Yummy! As always <3
These look incredible! I love the combination of oatmeal and chocolate!
Katie – did you happen to try this with regular oats vs quick? My store doesn’t carry quick oats that are gluten free. I was able to successfully sub regular in your black bean brownies but I’m not sure if that worked because the oats were both ground and cooked in that recipe.
I haven’t… they might be a bit more crumbly that way (but you never know). Or you can make your own quick oats by pulsing rolled oats in the food processor. If you experiment with rolled oats, be sure to report back 🙂
I need to recreate these they look so absolutely delicious!!
http://www.sophobsessed.com
I made these chocolate fudge bars last night after seeing them on Pinterest. I’d never made anything from your blog before, but these have made a new fan out of me (and out of my husband!!!)
Thanks for the recipe!
Forgot to mention, we used almond butter and it worked great.
These bars are amazing and help curb my sweet cravings!!
Thank you for this! Our oven is broke and being poor college kids we have been doing everything “no bake” until we move out in May. Can’t wait to make these!
Katie for President 2016! This recipe has more to offer the people than anything being spewed by this year’s candidates. (or any other year)
Perfect timing.. I was thinking about what mid-week treat to make to get us through until Shabbat. As I am grain-free I will adapt your crust to a nut-based instead of oatmeal based; should work fine. Ohhh.. I am excited!
Oh. Wow! I am speechless! This is something that I will be making with the block of chocolate that I have in my cupboard. Yummy!
– Yo Santana
I am using only non sugar type sweeteners such as stevia or Lakanto (monk fruit/erythritol mix). Do you have suggestions of how much and what I could use to replace the “liquidyness” of agave/honey etc.? Thanks 🙂
I’ve not tried so I really can’t say. But be sure to report back if you experiment!
I use NuNaturals Simple Syrup in these recipes instead of maple syrup. It works great.
Lakanto has a sugar free maple syrup that works in a lot of my recipes. the problem with this recipie is that you need something very viscious to hold the oats together well. I make this occasionally and usually just allow the real syrup….since you are eating grains anyway. Lakanto chips are fine in this and I like to use raw almond butter. TJS
What can I use as a allergy-friendly alternative? (low calorie would be creat but other
recommendation are great too :D)?
Alternatives to peanut butter that will work include almond butter, cashew butter, sunbutter, or even coconut butter.
Can I use something that is not butter or just a little nut butter and something else, but what?
I also wish there was something to use instead of a butter – my daughter is allergic to peanuts and almonds and I hate the taste of soy butter. I think I’ll try your bananas suggestion, how can you go wrong combining bananas, oatmeal and chocolate? !
Maybe tahini would work.
I made these with tahini and they were awesome!
Have you tried sunflower seed butter? It’s SO GOOD and I use it a lot in place of nut butters when baking to accommodate a friend with an allergy.
I used specaloos cookie butter. It makes it not as healthy, but the consistency is similar.
I am late to the party but have to say THANK YOU!!! We use the Specaloos as a treat in our house. I will be using it in these occasionally.
Great recipe. Simply simple. Looking forward to trying it.